Hanging Out in the Cage

Hanging upside down in her new breeding cage, this adult female praying mantis gets a taste for crickets. In this cage, which is an old aquarium with a fine mesh top the mantis prefers to hang upside down as she can get better footing clinging to the mesh screening. It is necessary to place a small branch or other bridging so that the crickets can climb up to the top of the cage, as they will not climb up the glass. I keep two females in this cage and they have been co-habiting it for about three weeks without any aggressive acts towards each other. The cage is 24 x 12 x 12. The first thing she does after catching the cricket is to gnaw off its head and drop the unappetizing parts of it to the bottom of the cage. She then leisurely finishes the rest of it.